How Marvel TV Can Revive Agent Carter

Looking back, the two seasons we got Agent Carter were but a glimpse of what the show could have been. Now that some time has passed, and an unfortunate cancellation by ABC, we never got the show most of us had hoped we would get. It was easy to assume that the show would pick up following the call Hayley Atwell’s Peggy Carter received from Dominic Cooper’s Howard Stark to help run S.H.I.E.L.D. in Los Angeles at the end of the Agent Carter One Shot. It feels like the show originally intended to show the progression of the SSR into the organization that would introduce us to the world of Nick Fury, Captain America, and Iron Man. Should Marvel TV decide to revive Agent Carter, as was suggested just this week by Chief of Marvel Television, Jeph Loeb, this is the direction that would have the strongest narrative tie to the MCU, and provide a rich back story to the early days of S.H.I.E.L.D. If the show were to make a slight time jump, to say the 1960s, could we see the story of the behind the birth of S.H.I.E.L.D., the recruitment of Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne, and showcasing the leadership of Peggy Carter?

I know, it’s risky, and it could overshadow one of the main plot points of the show – Peggy Carter’s place in the world in a Post-World War II era. But that show had some issues, leading to declining viewership and ultimate cancellation. It dealt with story lines that didn’t impact the flagship Marvel Cinematic Universe in any meaningful way, and if it did, it was only peripherally, or an occasional nod. It couldn’t go through the struggles that Iron Man and Captain America faced, or even the plot beats of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Instead the show remained focused on the “woman in a man’s world” troupe. Don’t get me wrong, this is an important issue, and one that made the show compelling; but is that really all Agent Carter had to offer?

A revival gives the creative team behind the show the opportunity to showcase Peggy Carter and the growing pains of changing from a World War II-borne organization, the precursor of the S.H.I.E.L.D. we know, to the evolution of the organization into the S.H.I.E.LD. of 2008’s Iron Man onward.  One simple, and sure fire way to please audiences would be to add true super hero elements to the mix that may give the story the boost it needs.  It just so happens that we already know one of them, Hank Pym, introduced to us, and shown in action in flashback footage in 2015’s Ant-Man.

So how does the central protagonist, Peggy Carter, play into this? Simple, make Agent Carter a prequel series to Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., set in the 1960’s. The show would have to make a time jump to S.H.I.E.L.D. as the successor to Strategic Science Reserves (SSR). The image above sums up the point perfectly, the SSR and S.H.I.E.L.D. were two sides of the same coin – showcase Peggy Carter’s role in that evolution. Introduce a young Hank Pym, Janet Van Dyne, Mitchell Carson (that HYDRA guy from Ant-Man who had has face bashed in by Pym in the beginning), and even a young Nick Fury. Show Howard Stark’s continued role in S.H.I.E.L.D., but pushing forward with Stark Industries and his technological advances. To bridge the time leap gap, we could see vignettes of the early days – recruiting, putting the team together, and getting the Howling Commandos involved again. And at the helm of it all? Peggy Carter, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

There is nothing that has already transpired on screen that would preclude this from being a reality. In fact, I argue that there is plenty of reason for this having been the case at some point within the MCU. Think back to the Peggy’s funeral from Captain America: Civil War – the kind a funeral fit for a former director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

The stories could even have direct ties to the MCU. Allude to having to chase down the Winter Soldier and his actions throughout history. Show us the breadcrumbs of HYDRA’s infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D. Show the struggle of a young growing organization failing to prevent the JFK assassination at the hands of an assassin with a metal arm from the grassy knoll, and HYDRA setting up the perfect patsy to take the fall (this would be nice little thread to tie into current MCU issues in the aftermath of both Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War). You can even address the first interactions between S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Kree, more importantly Kree blood, and how S.H.I.E.L.D. came into possession of the body seen on the modern day Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.  On that note, remember how we were told that Nick Fury’s “secrets have secrets”? Maybe the Kree blood he was so willing to use on Coulson is why Nick Fury is still alive and kicking in today’s MCU.  Who doesn’t want to see Director Carter make that call?

The story for Agent Carter needed to progress to a point that Peggy is seen by members of the SSR, and later S.H.I.E.L.D., as a true leader and a subject matter expert in her field. I mean, she was a part of the selection of Steve Rogers as Captain America for a reason. Opportunities exist to add diversity to the cast with a character we’ve all seen and enjoyed from The First Avenger, Derek Luke as Gabe Jones, the grandfather of B.J. Britt’s tragically lost Antoine Triplett (I still haven’t forgiven you for that by the way, Marvel). We’ve seen that Cap’s Howling Commandos were still involved with S.H.I.E.L.D. in the season 2 Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode “Shadow” as well as in the Agent Carter episode “Iron Ceiling”. This isn’t to say that all of these characters should be made regulars; with some of them having moved on to other roles outside of the MCU, it may be best to use some of them as cameos or for later story lines.  But the character of Gabe Jones has already been established as having been a spy at some point in his career after World War II, having been hinted at by Agent Koenig to Triplett. But, let’s seriously talk about Hank Pym, The Original Ant-Man.

The show had great success bringing Dominic Cooper’s Howard Stark back for story arcs and episodes throughout Agent Carter’s tragically short run – but he is not Iron Man, and as much as we love seeing this early version of Tony Stark with an added level of neurosis, he has other parts to play in this universe. Namely finding the wife that will become Iron Man’s mother. But he was, and never will be Iron Man.  So there is an opening for the introduction of another talented super genius with a suit that enables him to do fantastic and amazing things, “Tales to Astonish”, if you will (see what I did there?). Not only that but the characters of Hank Pym and his one day wife, Janet Van Dyne, can have their story told; what got them to the point that she would sacrifice herself to save the world, leaving behind a husband and daughter, who would one day go on to take up her mantel as The Wasp. (Cannot wait for that movie!) Not only that but by introducing Janet there is another female lead character to bear the burden of working in a “man’s world”, which has always been a central theme of Agent Carter.

But at the top – overseeing everything, making the tough decisions, sending Ant-Man on his Cold War-era missions – is their leader, Director Carter.

The show had a great deal of potential but there always seemed to be a level of uncertainty on how it should progress. Instead of being the show that brought us to S.H.I.E.L.D. through the stories of Peggy Carter, as was originally conceived, we were given a series that, while entertaining and gives us more of Hayley Atwell, became a procedural of sorts with one over-arching plot thread to save the world. This led the series to a rut that it couldn’t get out of without a thematic, narrative evolution.

Agent Carter had the potential to create dynamic and in depth storylines that could bleed into the MCU of today.  While Marvel TV may not want to overshadow Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., they didn’t have to. Let one inform the other, the past informing the future and even open the door for some very fun episodes of certain characters being sucked back in time (given that that element is going to be introduced into the MCU eventually **cough Time Stone cough**) to a place where the legends of Peggy Carter’s S.H.I.E.L.D. are thrown into a world with Coulson’s band of super-secret spies. A world where Peggy Carter’s lost love is alive and well.

Marvel TV, if you are reading this, I don’t want credit (well maybe a little), I just want the Agent Carter we were promised, and the Peggy Carter we deserved.

This is the show we wanted. Make this show, and people will watch. Give us the Agent Carter worthy of the MCU. Give us the series that Hayley Atwell, and her considerable talent, deserves. She hasn’t given up, continuing to push for its revival, and neither should Marvel. As she Hayley Atwell said herself while recently speaking with reporters after a panel at the 2016 TCA Summer Press Tour for her new ABC series Conviction:

“I don’t feel like I’ve said goodbye to her. She does still seem to live on a lot for fans. Marvel is still such a big part of my career and I suppose my professional family, but I would absolutely not rule out the idea of going back to Peggy at some point, seeing her in other avenues. I love her and I hope that she has a life elsewhere in another time.”

Hopefully, Marvel ends up reviving the Agent Carter series sometime in the future.

Heroic Staff

Heroic Staff

Heroic Special Activities Division Agent Trainee Program